16 | New Kids on the Block
The list of would-be distillers we uncovered ollowing last year’s
decline in global sales the worldwide bull market in whisky looks as if it may
have stalled, yet the industry still resounds with reassuringly bullish
sentiment. Not only are big companies such as Diageo and Pernod Ricard investing heavily for the long term, but their more measured activity is as nothing compared to the frenetic maelstrom of movement at the artisan end of the whisky spectrum. The whisky rumour mill constantly churns
with news of private individuals and companies looking for investment, and at a time when the world’s stock markets and banks are providing miserable returns, there is no shortage of investors willing to take a punt on a premium spirit being produced in a safe-haven economy. At Cask & Still we undertook a completely
unscientifi c straw poll to try and determine how many start-ups there are at the boutique end of the market. As well as the six newcomers that we’ve profi led here plus the six in the panel on page 23, we found well over a dozen projects that are either up-and-running or which have a realistic chance of securing the relatively modest investment they are seeking. Every day brings a new raft of prospective
distillers. Just last week a colleague was recounting the tale of two sisters near Ullapool who have a fantastic USP for their potential distillery. And nor is a far-fl ung location, or isolation from distilling hotspots of Islay, Speyside or Campbeltown, any longer a bar to entry. Okay, the six distilleries we’ve profi led here are all within the central belt, or in easy reach of it, but to judge by the list of potential new distilleries being constructed or touted, the geographical centrality of the artisan distillers we’ve interviewed is actually fairly unusual.
includes a slew of projects in the Borders, and a succession of distilleries in virtually every island in the Hebrides, plus Shetland and Orkney. And why not – the recent success of Anthony Wills’ Kilchoman distillery on Islay has whetted the appetite of the previously-reticent, while recent ventures such as Abhainn Dearg on Lewis and Adelphi’s Ardnamurchan operation have proved that distilleries in even the remotest locations can be viable. With micro-distilling pioneers such as
Australian Bill Lark, who was heavily involved in the early days of Kingsbarns, drastically reducing the price of starting a distillery, it’s never been easier to enter the world of whisky. High prices for good single malts and an availability of investment cash have stoked the rush to distil. There are problems, however, and some of
them present quite extreme challenges. One established distiller I know spoke in dark terms of a periodic shortage of casks and barrels that could completely fl oor unsuspecting novices. And the big companies which have been relaxed about relatively tiny competitors piggy-backing on their work in lucrative overseas markets may now be revising that laissez-faire approach as their own brands come under intense pressure. For canny craft distillers there are ways
around all of these issues. Ballindalloch, for instance, are rumoured to have raised 30% of their capital from Diageo; if true, this would allow them to tap into the multinational’s vast network. Another distiller who recently started production was offered investment from both Chinese and Russian parties and chose the former because he would have a natural partner for exporting to Asia. Others have eased cash fl ow issues by doubling up on gin and vodka (or, in the case of Lindores, their own spirit). Yet no matter their size or modus operandi, all of the artisan distilleries now rushing into the market have one thing in common: they are all whisky enthusiasts who are determined to live the dream. All power to their elbow!
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